Duel Academy Days
by Kamen Rider Bushido
Summary: Taking place after the end of 5D's, this story contains mixed elements of the new series "ZEXAL". Basically a retelling. However, this story involves a whole new set of characters. Hope you enjoy this new tale. Rating may change as the stroy progresses.
1. Awakening of the Numbers!

_OK, here's another story I wanted to do. This one is post 5D's and contains elements of the new series, ZeXal. This is simply fan-made and not for profit, so please enjoy the read._

* * *

><p>DUEL 1 – <em><strong>Open the Door to Victory: Awakening of the Numbers!<strong>_

_Fudō Yūji__, a young man with black hair spiked up to look like horns and red highlights and with deep blue eyes found himself before a large door. It was a demonic-looking door, its yellow-glowing eyes and sharp teeth bound with chains overlapping each other. It was flanked by tall fences and a circular key hole was in its mouth._

"_Whoever opens this door," the door spoke, "will obtain a new power."_

"_A new…power?" __Yūji_ _blinked._

"_But in exchange," it continued, "they must give up something most precious…"_

_Around __Yūji__'s neck was a gold, arrow shaped, key-like pendant and it began to glow as Yuji was sweating._

"_Something…precious?" he feared. Suddenly, the ground beneath him shattered and Yuji screamed as he plummeted to his death._

* * *

><p>"HAH…!" Yūji gasped as he jumped up. He was breathing heavily as his face was covered in sweat, wearing only a pair of dark red and black boxers.<p>

His room had an HD TV implanted into a wall across from his huge Emperor Size bed. To his right was a computer on a desk that was adjacent to the window that looked out to the rest of Neo Domino City. On his left was a dresser drawer with photos of him with several other kids when he was younger. Below the TV was a gaming system. By a corner to the right was a door to Yūji's bathroom and the closet was on his left near his room door.

"Just a dream," he panted. He wiped the sweat from his face as he finally relaxed. "It was just a dream. That damn dream again…" he sighed. On his desk was the golden key pendant and the light from the sun gave it a momentary glimmer. He looked to his clock.

"Good morning, Master Yūji," A girl greeted sweetly as she stood by his bedside. She had fair skin with long blue hair braided in two tails and violet eyes. She was dressed in a long-sleeve maid outfit and stockings and black boots.

"Good morning, Yuzuki," Yūji greeted back.

"Shall I prepare your breakfast?" she asked.

"Sure, thank you," he nodded. She smiled and turned to leave his room. "Better get ready," he told himself as he got out of bed and made his way to the shower.

* * *

><p><strong>Music – "The City" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Sound Duel 2)<strong>

It's been over 20 years since the defeat of Z-One and his followers and Team 5D's have enjoyed their years of peace, with Aki continuing her medical career, Yūsei still working as a scientist and researcher, Crow being a cop in the Neo Domino Police Force, as well as Jack being himself. Luca and Lua left their home to study abroad, so they gave Yūji ownership to the entire home complex on the roof of the Tops Building.

Yūji had come to a stop before the Duel Academy's entrance. Everyone made their way inside but Yūji who seemed to be waiting. He was sitting on his D-Wheel, a black variation of his father's, Fudō Yūsei, old D-Wheel "Yūsei-Go". He was dressed in the boys' school uniform, which was a blue blazer and slacks.

"They should be here any second," he muttered as he removed his helmet when he suddenly slapped in the back. "Gah!" he coughed as he turned back and snapped, "Dammit, Misato! Cut it out!"

The girl in question was Kurushina Misato, a childhood friend of Yūji's. She is fair skinned with emerald-green eyes and long, purple hair tied in a ponytail. She was dressed in the girls' red academy uniform with a black miniskirt. She had her jacket open to show her blood-red blouse that was open at the top to show off her obvious cleavage.

"Where's the fun in just saying 'hi'?" she grinned before kissing his cheek.

"I swear, you're going to make him cough up a lung one day, Misato," Nekozawa Hana sighed. She was a pale-skinned girl with straight, short black hair that framed her face as the edge of her hair was in fringes, as well as dark brown eyes that were shielded by a pair of wire frame, rectangular glasses.

The girl next to her was shorter than the other three students by a few inches and had long, pepper-black hair in two long ponytails on the sides of her head, and big doe-like hazel eyes that made her so cute. Her dark-skinned gave her an exotic appearance. She and Hana had their uniforms properly worn, unlike Misato.

"Morning, Class Rep," Misato grinned. "You too, Michiru."

"Good morning, Misato-chan" Michiru beamed before hugging Yūji, "And you too, Yu-kun!"

"Thank you, Michiru," he accepted.

"And where is Shinichi?" Hana inquired.

"ORE, SANJOU!" a voice declared as the four looked up to see a boy flipping forward in midair before he elegantly landed by the front gate, crouching on knee and his right arm across his chest with his left arm stretching out. "I made it," he declared.

"A perfect 10, Shin-kun!" Michiru clapped.

"Showy as always," Hana sighed. Misato could only laugh.

The boy in question, Banabara Shinichi, was a fair-skinned boy with short indigo hair that had the two strands on the top that stuck like bug antennae and matching eyes. His blazer was open and his shirt was loose.

He bumped fists with Yūji and grinned, "Made it on time!"

"Been watching Kamen Rider early in the morning again?" Yūji asked.

"Couldn't help it, it's Den-O this season," Shinichi shrugged.

"They sure love to premiere old shows these days," another Duel Academy student said as he approached the group. He was the shortest of the group, reaching to Yūji's chest. He had teal eyes and chin length brown hair with some of his bangs held back with some hair clips. He was properly dressed in the boys' uniform.

"Yo, Hideyoshi," Yūji greeted.

"We better get going or we'll be late," the diminutive boy reminded.

"No thanks to Shinichi and his showing off," Misato quipped.

"Hey, at the start of the day and straight to the end...I AM AT A CLIMAX!" Shinichi defended.

"You know, some would think you're a premature ejaculator if you shout it out like that," she smirked.

"Let's go already," Yūji sighed as he led his D-Wheel inside to park.

* * *

><p>Yūji and his team take a break after the morning classes, walking the grounds as they witnessed the myriad of duels through AR (Augmented Reality) Vision. Monsters could be seen everywhere as combatants played their hardest against one another.<p>

"Everybody's fired up," Shinichi grinned as he watched through his D-Gazer, an optical device that allowed spectators and Duelists to view their duels through AR Vision. His lens was the standard green as the frame was black and red.

"Wish I could say the same about that kid," Hideyoshi pointed. The others looked to a bridge where two Duelists were facing off.

One of the students was a young man with dark blue eyes, pale skin and dark purple hair, which resembles tentacles hanging down. He was wearing a white shirt with green-lined sleeves, tie and a collar; the school's male dress code. On his field were Big Jaws and Skull Kraken, two Level 3 Fish-type monsters.

On his opponent's field was a Marauding Captain.

**Music – "Catastrophe" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Sound Duel 3)**

"I overlay my Level 3 Big Jaws and Level 3 Skull Kraken!" he declared. The two monsters turned into two different shades of blue light respectively as they swirled into the sky. In the middle of the field, a red portal opened up as it swirled. "I open the Overlay Network with my two monsters," he announced. "Exceed Summon!" The two lights flew into the portal as the student called out, "**Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!**"

A ball of fire burst from the ground as it formed into a large beast, resembling a cross between a pair of hammerhead sharks and a submarine, bound together at the head by a single blade. It had two spheres orbiting its body.

_**Submersible Carrier - Aero Shark  
>WATERFish/Xyz/Effect/Rank 3/1900/1000  
>2 Level 3 monsters<br>Once per turn: You can detach 1 Exceed Material from this card; inflict 100 damage to your opponent for each of your banished monsters.**_

"_**Exceed Summon," **_Yūji monologues, "The process where you overlay two monsters of the same level to create a monster of a corresponding _**Rank**_. My father really outdid himself when he created these monsters."

"Battle!" the boy declared. "Attack Marauding Captain! _**Surfing Jaws!**_"

The submersible beast roared as it charged at the warrior, opening its powerful jaws and snapping shut as its prey exploded into specs of gold light. The attack was the end of the duel as his opponent's Life Points were reduced to 0.

_**Shark: 3600**_

_**Opponent: 0**_

**End Music**

The victor picks up the deck from his opponent and looks through it. "Hmph, nothing worth mentioning," he frowned. He tosses the cards back to his opponent "Build a new deck and make it worth my time when you decide to challenge me again," he declared.

"That's what happens when you mess with Shark-san," Itou Makoto grinned.

"Dude's unstoppable!" Sawanaga Taisuke boasted.

"Deplorable," Hana frowned.

"You guys are nothing but a bunch of bullies!" Michiru accused.

Shark frowned and his "groupies" as he walked away. "Itou, Sawanaga, let's go."

"Hey!" Yūji called out.

"Hm?" he turned.

"Duel me! Right now, unless you're scared!" the spiky-haired student challenged.

"Shouldn't you show some manners and introduce yourself first?" Ryōga asked. "It's proper etiquette."

Misato stepped forward and announced, "Then you better open your ears and listen up, cuz my boy, Yūji, is gonna whip your ass like a bitch!"

Yūji sighed dejectedly, "Misato...that was wrong. So...very wrong."

"Well then, I'm Kamishiro Ryōga, and now's not a good time. The last Duel left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm tired." He checks his PDA's schedule and nods, "Looks like I've got an opening. OK, Domino Square at noon, this Sunday." And he turned to take his leave.

"What a jerk," Misato spat.

"He must be one of those spoiled rich kid types," Shinichi commented.

Hana took out her iPad Nexus and scrolled through her data. "Kamishiro Ryōga," she cited, "a.k.a. "Shark." A second year student at Duel Academy, he uses seemingly-weak Fish Monsters to get stronger monsters."

"So, he uses Fish," Yūji noted. However, he couldn't help but feel something awfully familiar about Shark... Yūji closed his eyes in thought, "Might as well get ready for the weekend then."

* * *

><p>It was Sunday, and the teens were in casual dress as Yūji and Shark stood across from each other. Yūji was dressed in a pair of black jeans, black sneakers with red accents, red fingerless gloves and a red bomber jacket with white sleeves. Shark was wearing a dark purple jacket over a maroon shirt and dark blue pants with white, green-gems shoes. He was wearing a grey, shark tooth-shaped pendant, and two grey rings on his right hand.<p>

"I'm glad you showed," Shark nodded. "Means your punctual."

"I'm not one to run away," Yūji countered.

"Good, and the conditions are the same: Loser forfeits their deck. Now let's get started!"

**Music – "Duel 1" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4)**

"Duel Disk: Set!" Yūji declared as his D-Pad opened and attached to his gauntlet with the monster slots folding out. "D-Gazer: Set!" he called as the D-Gazer unfolded and was put on Yūji's face, the same with Shark. The lenses glowed simultaneously.

The place is enveloped with green particles as the area changes color, indicating that the atmosphere has changed. There were also some small charts everywhere and people who weren't involved in the duel seemed to disappear within the AR Vision. Yūji and Shark's groups were wearing their own D-Gazer to watch the Duel.

_"AR Vision Link established!"_ a female computerized voice announced.

"**DUEL!" **Yūji and Shark chorused.

_**Fudō Yū**__**ji: 4000**_

_**Shark**__**: 4000**_

"I'll start off," Yūji declared as he drew his inspected his hand and nodded as he began, "I activate the Continuous Spell Card, _**Gateway of the Six!**_" He played the Spell Card and a large wooden gate rose up behind him, with a large circular symbol on the front with six smaller circles in the center. "As long as this card is on the field, it gains 2 Bushido Counters for every "Six Samurai" Monster that I Normal or Special Summon to my field," he explained.

Shark's eyes narrowed with a hint of familiarity at the term, "Six Samurai...?"

"That's right," Yūji confirmed as he continued, "And I summon _**The Six Samurai - Zanji!**_" His monster was summoned as its outline seemed to flicker in yellow light. It was covered in orange samurai armor and armed with a naginata

_**The Six Samurai - Zanji  
>LIGHTWarrior/Effect/Lv4/1800/1300  
>At the end of the Damage Step, if this card attacks: Destroy the monster this card attacked. You must control a face-up "Six Samurai" monster with a different name to activate and to resolve this effect. If this card would be destroyed, you can destroy another face-up "Six Samurai" monster you control instead.<strong>_

He let out a battle cry as he twirled his weapon in one hand. "I set one card and end my turn." The Set card materialized as Yūji's turn was over.

"So, it _is_ you," Shark smirked as he called Yūji, "_**Mr. Bushido**_**."**

"That's right," Yūji nodded with a level gaze at Shark. "It's been a while since anybody called me by that name."

"The one man with a unique Deck of monsters that resemble the samurai of ancient Japan," Shark said. "_**The Six Samurai**_; the most unique Monsters ever created, by a young man, a few years ago. Everyone called him Mr. Bushido, a.k.a. Fudō Yūji."

"That's right," Shinichi boasted, "And Yūji's gonna kick your ass with his Samurai!"

"Heh, I doubt that," Shark smirked, "This is even better than I thought; not only do I get the Six Samurai when I win, but I'll even defeat the 'great' Mr. Bushido!"

"Hey! You don't have to be so mean to Yū-kun!" Michiru fumed.

"Need I remind you," Yūji glared, "This _party_ just started. So make your move so I can shut you up."

"Fine! Ore no turn! Draw!" Shark inspected his hand and smirked, "I Summon _**Big Jaws!**_" He slapped the card down on his Duel Disk, the card materializing on the field before him as a swirl of water erupted forth, the cybernetic Fish Monster emerging and letting out a gurgled roar.

_**Big Jaws  
>WATERFish/Effect/Lv3/1800/300|  
>You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) during the turn you activated a Normal Spell Card.<strong>_

"Next I activate the Spell Card, Aqua Jet! And since Big jaws is a Fish-type monster, it gains 1000 Attack points!" While explaining this, Shark's monster gained a set of jets on its sides as its power increased.

_**Big Jaws: 1800 → 2800**_

"There it is," Taisuke smirked.

"Shark-san's Magic Combo," Makoto nodded.

"Go, Big Jaws," Shark ordered, "**Steel Fang!"**

The Big Jaws let out a roar as its jets propelled it into the air, the giant fist soaring before coming back down and through the ground. tunneling could be heard as the ground shook. The fin could be seen as Big Jaws emerged, jaws wide opened as it went for Zanji. The Six Samurai tried to counter with his naginata, only be chomped up and gobbled by the fish as it turned to particles of light.

_**Fudō Yū**__**ji: 4000 → 3000**_

"Yū-kun!" Michiru gasped.

"So much for Zanji," Shinichi dismayed.

"It's fine," Hideyoshi dismissed.

That's when Yūji declared, "I activate the Trap Card: **Shien's Plot!**"

This caught Shark by slight surprise as his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What...?"

"If a Six Samurai I control has been destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon up to 2 more Six Samurai from my hand," Yūji explained as he slapped two more cards down on his Duel Disk, "_So join the party, guys_; **The Six Samurai - Irō! The Six Samurai - Nisashi!**"

At his call, two more Six Samurai monsters materialized onto the field. One was in purple armor with a cloak, wearing a visor over his eyes and carrying a nodachi. The other was covered in green armor and wore a pair of katana at his waist.

_**The Six Samurai - Irō  
>DARKWarrior/Effect/Lv4/1700/1200  
>At the start of the Damage Step, if this card attacks a face-down Defense Position monster: Destroy that monster. You must control a face-up "Six Samurai" monster with a different name to activate and to resolve this effect. If this card would be destroyed, you can destroy another face-up "Six Samurai" monster you control instead.<strong>_

_**The Six Samurai - Nisashi  
>WINDWarrior/Effect/Lv4.1400/700  
>While you control a face-up "Six Samurai" monster with a different name, this card can attack twice during each Battle Phase. If this card would be destroyed, you can destroy another face-up "Six Samurai" monster you control instead.<strong>_

"Knowing that he had no monsters capable of lasting through the first round, Yūji anticipated the destruction of his Samurai and used that as an opportunity to employ a counter maneuver. Now he has two monsters instead of one," Hana explained.

"That guy always has a trick or two," Misato remarked.

"Not bad, Bushido," Shark commented, "But they're not enough to take on Big jaws, even after his Attack Points return to normal. I set a card and end my turn." With that, the jets disappeared from Big Jaws as its Attack power returned to normal.

"Good thing it's my turn then, because I've got a surprise for ya. I draw!" Yūji drew his card and inspected his hand before announcing, "With the Summoning of Irō and Nisashi, I gain another Bushido Counter. So I now I send my Spell Card to the Graveyard, in order to activate its effect. Since I have 2 Bushido Counters on United, I can draw 2 cards from my Deck! Next up, I Overlay my two Level 4 Samurai, Nisashi and Irō, to build the Overlay Network!" As he did that, Irō and Nisashi turned into respective lights of purple and green, taking the form of orbs, as they flew into a red vortex that materialized on the ground. "_The shadow of the lord takes form. Draw your shining blade and cut down the wicked!_ _**Exceed Summon! Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien!**_"

At his call, a new warrior was called to the field. His armor and long hair matched the crimson color of blood, his armor worn over black hakama pants and an ornate purple haori. covering his mouth was a matching red mouth guard as he drew his sword and let out a battle cry of, "BANZAI!"

_**Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien  
>DARKWarrior/Xyz/Effect/Rank 4/2500/400  
>2 Level 4 "Six Samurai" monsters<br>Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to target 1 face-up "Six Samurai" monster you control with less than 2000 ATK; its original ATK becomes 2000 until the End Phase.**_

"Oh? So there's even an Xyz for the Six Samurai," Shark smirked.

"Time for battle!" Yūji was pumped up as he called, "Shien will attack Big Jaws!" Shien dashed over toward big jaws, ready to fillet the Fish Monster. But Shark wouldn't have any of that...

"I activate the Trap Card: **Zeus' Breath!**" His face-down card flipped over, a blue statue materializing as wind, snow and rain blew forth, pushing back Shien. "When my opponent's monster attacks, that attack is negated," Shark explained, "And if I have a Water-Attribute monster on my field, you take 800 points of damage!"

True to Shark's word, Yuji did feel the biting cold of the trap as he took damage. Though, Shark's opponent stood firm, despite the blistering cold.

_**Fudō Yū**__**ji: 3000 → 2200**_

"OK, walked into that one, honestly," Yūji admitted as he got back on his feet and inspected his hand. 'Guess all I can do for now is setup for later,' he thought to himself. "I set 1 card and activate the Equip-Spell: **Ebon Steed!**" At once, a pitch-black horse in armor neighed as it was summoned, allowing Shien to jump on its back as his power grew.

_**Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien: 2500 → 2700**_

"With this, Shien's power grows and my steed will be destroyed in Shien's place," Yūji added.

"Yūji's increased his defenses, as well as increasing Shien's own power," Hana nodded. "That steed is both his shield and sword."

"I draw! OK, I Normal Summon Skull Kraken!" At his call, a huge octopus-like creature, gray and having tentacles, with a skull-shaped head, materialized onto the field.

_**Skull Kraken  
>DARKAqua/Effect/Lv3/600/1600  
>When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 face-up<strong>_ _**Spell**__**/Trap Card your opponent controls; destroy that target.**_

"600 Attack points? Boy, Shark isn't be very bright, huh?" Shinji taunted. "Shien's got 2700 Attack Points now, thanks to Ebon Steed. None of his monsters can touch Yūji!"

"A monster's base power isn't everything," Hideyoshi frowned. "That thing has a nasty effect."

"When Skull Kraken is Normal Summoned, I can destroy 1 face-up Spell or Trap Card," Shark dictated, "And I choose your Steed spell!" At the command, Skull Kraken had a black smog oozing out the opening in its head, the horse neighing in protest as it was destroyed and Shien's power returning to normal.

_**Shadow of the Six Samurai - Shien: 2700 → 2500**_

"Damn, now Yūji's back to square one," Shinichi groaned.

"Are you giving up?" Shark asked on a screen that showed up before Yūji. "It's probably best that you do. Even with Shien on your side, you don't stand a chance against me!"

"Need I remind you that I'm still standing," Yūji assured, "Besides, this Duel's just getting fun." He gripped the pendant around his neck and said, "I swore on this key… That I would never give up! Not now, and not ever! I will keep the hope for victory because I believe in my cards! And my faith will bring me home!" Suddenly, the key pendant began to shine brightly. "What the…!" The light was so intense that everyone was blinded by its radiance.

* * *

><p><em>Yū<em>_ji found himself before the demonic gate once again as it spoke, "Now, open the door…"_

_"Great, this again," __Yū__ji frowned._

_"Open the door," the gate ordered. "If you do, you will obtain a new power."_

_Yū__ji arched a brow, recognizing the voice that said the same thing in his sleep. This definitely wasn't a dream. "A new…power?"_

_"But in exchange, you will give up something you hold most precious."_

_Yū__ji growled as he gripped the pendant and started running to the gate's door as he roared, "I'M ONLY OPENING THE DOOR SO YOU CAN SHUT THE HELL UP!" And he punched the key into the keyhole. A light erupted form the door, blinding __Yū__ji. "GAH!" __Yū__ji grunted as he was flung back by a wave of power. He struggled to get up. The chains shattered and the doors slowly opened to reveal a myriad of colors on the other side of the door and he gasped when he was face-to-face with a gold-eyed figure. He then found himself encased in a sphere of glowing cards. "What hell kind of Twilight Zone bullshit is this?" he asked himself before the sphere shattered and the cards scattered about and disappeared._

* * *

><p>Yūji had found himself sitting on the floor, back in his world as he looked around. "What the hell was that...?" he muttered.<p>

"Hey, Yūji!" Shinichi called. "You OK?"

Yūji jumped to his feet and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I think," he replied as he checked his body. He heard Shark growling and looked over to him.

**Music – "Duel 5" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4)**

"What is this?" he demanded as he was giving off a purple aura. "This power…is flowing through me… ERAAAAAAGH!"

"_Now, call me out,"_ a dark voice echoed in Shark's head, _"the Numbers."_

"**RRRAAAAAAAGH!"** Shark roared as Big jaws and Skull Kraken turned into 2 shades of blue energy flames respectively. "I overlay my Level 3 Big Jaws and Skull Kraken!" The two energies flew up and twirled around each other as the area began to darken.

"What's happening?" Hideyoshi gasped.

A black hole opened in the center of the field as Shark announced, "I open the Overlay Network with these two monsters. _**EXCEED SUMMON!**_ Come, _**Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!**_"

The portal exploded into a rainbow of colors as a purple glowing orb wrapped in purple coils, with 6 scythe-like projections on top. The coils began to loosen and unfold as the scythes turned out to be arms as they stretched out and released blue, fin-like wings attached to them. The main body was serpentine and the head was long and narrow with teeth like steak knives and glowing red eyes. Its head was surrounded by sharp golden horns and had a huge blue fin atop its head. The right horn was stamped with a golden, circular "17" on it.

_**Number 17: Leviathan Dragon  
>WATERDragon/Xyz/Effect/Rank 3/2000/0  
>2 Level 3 monsters<br>Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; this card gains 500 ATK. If this card has no Xyz Material, it cannot attack your opponent directly.**_

The serpentine creature roared/screeched as it towered over everyone, gazing down at Yūji menacingly.

"What is that thing?!" Hideyoshi demanded. "That's not the same monster he used the other day!"

"Why are you asking me?!" Shinichi gawked.

"What are Numbers?!" Michiru cringed.

"I…I don't know," Hana replied. She was trembling with fear, "I've never heard of such a thing. Could it be some kind of new Archetype?!"

"Yūji, get out of there!" Misato pleaded.

Yuji looked up at the beast, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "_Numbers_... I've never heard of such a thing. Could it be new...?" he pressed a button on his D-Gazer and spoke, "Yuzuki, scan opponent's monster."

"_Scanning,"_ she replied through the communicator. _"Subject identified as an Exceed Monster; Water attribute; Dragon-type; 2000 ATK and 0 DEF."_

"That's it?" he blinked. "Scan for any matches in the Duel Monsters card database. Keyword: _Numbers_."

"_Scanning… No match in database,"_ she concluded.

"No match…?" he gaped. _'It doesn't make any sense,' _he thought. _'What is this thing...? Where did it come from?!'_

Shark grinned, "I remove one Overlay Unit from Leviathan Dragon in order to increase his strength by 500 points!"

"Wow," Yūji blinked with genuine surprise.

Leviathan Dragon devoured one of the balls of light that orbited it and roared as it was empowered.

_**Leviathan Dragon: 2000 → 2500**_

"I set a card and my turn's done. Try and keep me entertained," Shark challenged as the aura around him grew stronger.

"With that dragon and Shien on equal footing, this should buy me some time to cook up some kind of plan," Yūji sighed, "But if he powers that thing up again, this is gonna get ugly really quick..."

"We need to deal with that creature."

"Huh?" Yūji blinked as he turned to his right and jumped back to see an almost crystal-like being, male, with a slim figure, spiky hair, chain earrings, pointed ears, and one silver right eye and one gold left eye. His body was lined with green tattoos. He was giving off a white aura.

"Who…or _what _are you?" Yūji demanded.

The ethereal being turned to Yūji and replied, "Astral."

"Astral?" Yūji echoed.

"My memory of that is clear," he added.

"Great, first an unknown monster shows up and now this guy," Yūji muttered. "I guess shit like this only happens on a Sunday…"

A screen of Misato came up next to Yūji. _"What's wrong, __Yū__ji?"_ she asked worriedly.

Another screen with Shinichi in it appeared. _"Who are ya talking too?"_ he asked.

"You're telling me you can't see this weird-ass guy here?" Yūji called out as he pointed to Astral.

"I don't see anybody," Michiru blinked.

"I think the pressure of this match is getting to him," Hana frowned.

Yūji looked to Astral who was floating. _'So I' must be the only one that can see this guy,'_ he concluded.

"You can't understand my existence, can you?" Astral inquired.

"What, are you some kind of ghost?" Yūji asked.

Astral looked to Yūji and asked, "What kind of effects does a ghost have?"

"Say wha…?" Yūji sweat-dropped.

"When does it activate?"

"…You have no idea what I just asked, do you?"

"It seems I have lost my memory," Astral surmised. "Most likely when I came to this world."

"Sounds like amnesia."

"Amnesia?"

"It's when you suffer from memory loss," Yūji explained.

"It must be a result of the sudden impact, causing my memories to scatter," Astral theorized.

"I see," Yūji nodded.

"I think Yūji is sick or something," Shinichi guessed worriedly.

"Maybe he hit his head," Michiru suggested.

"Or maybe there really is someone there," Hana frowned. "Someone _**we**_ can't see, but _**he**_ can."

Astral looked to Shark as his gaze focused on Leviathan Dragon. "_Numbers…_" he muttered.

"What's wrong?" Yūji asked.

"There should be some kind of important memory linked to that creature," he clarified. "My instincts are telling me to win this Duel."

"You know how to duel?" Yūji blinked with surprise.

"Yes," Astral replied. "I _**am**_ a Duelist." He did a dramatic turn as he called out, "Watashi no…TURN!"

"Hey, it's _**my**_ turn," Yūji corrected. "Ore no turn, draw!" he announced as he drew his inspected his hand and grinned, "OK, think I can work with this... I activate the Field Spell: **Shien's Castle of Mist!**" Once activated the field darkened as purple mist set in, with a pagoda rising behind Yūji. "With this, whenever a Six Samurai is attacked, the attacking monster loses 500 Attack Points! Let's see what 'cha got!"

"So if Leviathan Dragon attacks," Misato smirked.

"It'll weaken and allow Shien to counter attack," Hana finished with a pleased nod.

"I draw! I summon **Drill Barnacle!**"

What appeared was a grotesque, shellfish-looking creature that was covered in tentacles and barnacles, materializing before everyone.

_**Drill Barnacle  
>WATERAqua/Effect/Lv3/300/0  
>This card can attack your opponent directly. Each time this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent by a direct attack: This card gains 1000 ATK.<strong>_

"Why play a weak monster like that?" Hideyoshi asked curiously.

"Bet it has a nasty effect," Shinichi frowned.

"Next, I remove my Big Jaws Overlay Unit to increase Leviathan Dragon's Attack Power!" Shark declared as Leviathan Dragon roared.

_**Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: 2500 → 3000**_

"Now I'll attack Shien with Leviathan Dragon," Ryōga grinned, "Right now!"

The dragon roared as it let out a sinister breath of purple and white flames at Shien, only to be affected by the castle's power as it was drained a little.

"Don't forget, with Shien's Castle looming over, Leviathan Dragon's power weakens!" Yūji reminded.

_**Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: 3000 → 2500**_

Shien countered by cutting through the flames, dashing at Leviathan Dragon, and slashing at its skin as the two monsters exploded simultaneously.

"It may have cost a monster, but at least that dragon's gone," Yūji sighed.

"Don't be so sure," Shark grinned as Leviathan Dragon roared, alive and well.

"What the hell?!" Misato gawked.

"What gives!?" Shinichi demanded.

"Both monsters had 2500 Attack Points, so they should be destroyed since they were in Attack Mode," Hideyoshi frowned.

"The reason," Shark grinned, "Is because Numbers can only be defeated in battle by _other _Numbers!"

_**Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: 2500 → 3000**_

"That's not fair!" Michiru whined.

"So what, these Numbers are unstoppable...?" Misato frowned.

"And I don't have a Number monster," Yūji deadpanned, "Well, that's pretty damn convenient."

"Now I'll attack with Drill Barnacle!" Shark commanded as drills sprouted from the shells of the monster, the beast charging at Yūji as he was hit and thrown back.

_**Fudō Yū****ji: 2200 **→ **1900**_

"And since Drill Barnacle attacked," Shark grinned, "It gains 1000 Attack Points!" His statement was confirmed as the monster glowed with a blue aura and increased in size.

_**Drill Barnacle: 300 → 1300**_

"Terrific," Yūji frowned. "Now I have a freak of a monster and killer shellfish to deal with..."

Astral closed his eyes and saw flashes of what transpired when Yūji opened the door. "Numbers…" His gazed focused on Leviathan Dragon's right horn where the "17" mark rested. "I've remembered," he said. "These "Numbers" are pieces of my memory! They are special cards among the Exceed Monsters. They cannot be defeated by cards of _**this**_ world. What's more, is that in a Duel between Numbers, the victor takes the loser's Number."

"And?" Yūji urged.

"If I cannot win this Duel, my existence will be forever erased," Astral answered. "I must win this Duel."

"I'm open to ideas," Yūji accepted as he stared at his hand. "Unfortunately, this deck was designed for Synchro Summoning; not Exceed Summoning. My options…are limited."

"Fudō, listen to me right now," Shark frowned. "Right now your chances of winning are less than zero! Why don't you just forfeit?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Makoto butted in.

"Shut up, Itō!" he snapped.

Makoto flinched and piped, "S...sorry."

"And stop whining like a little bitch," he admonished. "That annoys me. Same goes to you, Sawanaga. Always following me around like some puppies, kissing my feet so you can try to earn my favor. It's disgusting. Pathetic and disgusting. Still, you're all at least tolerable so I keep you both around."

"I suppose those two aren't your friends," Yūji guessed.

"Friends?" He scoffed, "As if anybody wants to befriend someone like me. That's fine. I don't need anybody! I just need power, more and more power! Now, I set a card and end my turn!"

**Music – "Counterattack" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Sound Duel 1)**

"There's still a chance," Astral spoke.

"Huh?" Yūji blinked.

"Summoning two monsters are the conditions for it. Listen carefully, um…"

"It's Yūji," he introduced. "Fudō Yūji."

"Now listen carefully…Tōji."

"It's _**Yū**__**ji!**_" he snapped. "Yū-ji!"

"This turn, you should work to special monsters," Astral continued.

"Special summon?" he blinked. He checked his hand and then his Graveyard via the touch-screen D-Pad. "I got it!" he grinned. "What kind of monsters do you need?" he asked Astral.

"Monsters whose levels are 4," he responded.

"Then it's time to rev it up!" Yūji declared. "I draw and summon the Legendary Six Samurai - Enishi!" At this time, a new samurai materialized onto the field, his armor green and wearing blue hakama.

_**Legendary Six Samurai - Enishi  
>LIGHTWarrior/Effect/Lv4/1700/700  
>Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can banish 2 "Six Samurai" monsters from your Graveyard to target 1 face-up monster on the field; return that target to the hand. You must control a face-up "Six Samurai" monster with a different name to activate and to resolve this effect. While you control 2 or more face-up "Six Samurai" monsters except "Legendary Six Samurai - Enishi", this card gains 500 ATK and DEF.<strong>_

"And that's not all," Yūji continued, "Because now I activate my Monster Reborn Spell card! This lets me revive a monster from the Graveyard, and I choose Zanji!" At his command, Zanji emerged from a purple portal that materialized on the field, his two Samurai monsters standing proudly.

"This is good," Astral nodded, "Now we have the pieces for an Exceed Summon."

"What? But the only Exceed Monster I have is Shien!"

"Look at your Extra Deck" the 'spirit' instructed.

Yūji looked down and saw his deck box glowing with a golden light. Curious, he opened it and pulled out a glowing card.

"What the...?" He gasped. "I don't remember putting this in my deck! I can't read its text."

"I can," Astral informed. "_**Number 39: King of Wishes - Hope!**_" And the name text of the card changed from a strange glyphic text to Japanese, allowing Yūji to read it.

"Numbers!" he gasped.

"That's right," Astral nodded. "This is the power granted to you."

Yūji nodded, "If so... Then it's time to rev it up! I overlay my Level 4 Zanji and Level 4 Enishi!"

The monsters turned into golden flames as they took to the sky as a black vortex opened in the center of the field.

"I open the Overlay Network with these monsters," Yūji declared. "Descending from the Heavens, the holy king has appeared! Exceed Summon!"

And he and Astral called out together, **"Appear now, **_**Number 39: King of Wishes - Hope!**_**"**

What emerged as a white gold monument with a glowing blue core as two golden orbs of light orbited its form. It then opened up, transforming into a giant humanoid with sharp wings a white body with golden armor, and two swords at its hips. It had a black face with red eyes, with a red, circular "39" stamped on its left shoulder.

It flexed its body and roared, **"HOOOOOOOOPE!"**

_**Number 39: Hope, the Aspiring Emperor  
>LIGHTWarrior/Xyz/Effect/ Rank 4/2500/2000  
>2 Level 4 Monsters<br>This card can only be destroyed by battle with another "Number" monster. When any player's monster declares an attack, you can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card to negate the attack.**_

"Another one?!" Hana gasped.

"How did Yūji get one?" Hideyoshi gaped.

"He's so shiny..." Michiru awed.

"And big..." Misato jabbed. "Bow-chicka-bow-wow."

"What is that thing?!" Taisuke gawked.

"Why are asking me!?" Makoto panicked.

Shark simply grinned at the challenge of another Number monster. He wanted a fight, and it seems he was going to get it. "So you've been chosen as well, Fudo!"

"And now it's time to make some sushi, and your barnacle's on the menu with Hope as the chef! Hope Sword Slash!" Hope obeyed his new master as he flew right at Drill barnacle, the beast trying to retaliate, as the warrior drew one of his swords and cut it down, dealing damage to Shark's score.

_**Kamishiro Ry**__**ōga: 4000 **_→ _**2800**_

"I'll end my turn with this!" Yūji announced.

"Fine then! I'll draw, and activate the Surface Spell Card, reviving Big jaws from the graveyard! Next I'll release my big jaws in order to Advance Summon Jaws Man!" At this time, Big Jaws glowed and shattered into gold shards, coming back together and forming a purple, humanoid with shark jaws making up a good portion of its body.

_**Jawsman  
>WATERBeast-Warrior/Effect/Lv6/2600/1600  
>Cannot be Special Summoned. If you Tribute Summon this card, all Tributes must be WATER. This card gains 300 ATK for each face-up WATER monster you control, except this card.<strong>_

"And since Leviathan Dragon is a Water-Attribute Monster, Jawsman gains 300 Attack Points!"

_**Jawsman: 2600 → 2900**_

"And now it's Leviathan Dragon's turn! Attack! It's over!" Shark snapped. _**"VICE STREAM!" **_Leviathan Dragon obeyed and fired another blast, heading straight for Hope.

"Quick, what's Hope's effect?" Yūji inquired.

"Hope's effect," Astral responded. "By using up one Overlay Unit, it can negate a monster's attack."

"OK then," Yūji grinned. "I activate Hope's Monster Effect! By using 1 Overlay Unit, I can negate the attack of any monster!" Hope then absorbed the Overlay Unit into his chest and flapped his left wing as it extended to cover his body as a shield. _**"Moon Barrier!"**_ And the blast was deflected from Hope, bouncing off and putting a hole in a nearby building. "That was close," he sighed.

"I still have one more attack," Shark reminded. "Go, Jawsman!"

"Right now it's as he says. Use Hope's effect!" Astral commanded.

"Don't have to," Yūji countered. "Counter Trap, _**Bye-Bye Damage,**_ activate!" One of his face down cards flipped up revealing itself as Hope was covered in a crystalline aura, protecting him from harm as the card protected Hope and deflected Jawsman's shockwave. "With that, Hope's safe from destruction and you take twice as much damage as me!" Shark was in for a shock as he was inflicted the card's damage effect, with both players losing Life as a result.

**Fudō Yū****ji: 2200 **→ _**1900  
>Kamishiro Ry<strong>__**ōga: 4000 **_→ _**2800**_

"What's your rush? This Duel's getting interesting," Yūji grinned.

**End Music**

"Heh, in that case I activate the Trap Card, Urchin Bomb! And once my Standby Phase begins, you'll take 1000 points of damage!"

"We're still in a pinch," Astral reminded.

"I know," Yūji grinned. "I'm hanging by the skin of my teeth and I'm enjoying it! It'll be that much sweeter when I win. Ore no turn! Draw!" Yūji declared as he drew his card. "OK, Hope, attack Leviathan Dragon!"

**Music – "In Advantage 2" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4)**

Hope drew one of his swords and tossed it up, the weapon spinning in midair before he caught it as he dashed toward Leviathan Dragon.

"What are you doing!?" Astral demanded.

"Being _**myself!**_" Yūji replied.

"Is he crazy!?" Shinichi exclaimed.

"But that dragon is way stronger!" Michiru cried.

'_He has a plan,'_ Hideyoshi, Hana and Misato realized.

"I you want to lose so badly, that's fine by me!" Ryōga sneered.

"I remove one Overlay Unit and negate Hope's attack!" Yūji declared.

Hope's sword then burst into gold particles.

Ryōga laughed and demanded, "What's the point of a combo that deals no damage!?"

"The point here," Yūji grinned, "is that I win. Reverse card, open! _**Double or Nothing!**_"

Yūji's face down card flipped over to reveal a Quick-Play Spell Card with a slot machine spitting out gold coins for the art.

_**Double or Nothing!  
>Quick-Play<br>When a monster's attack is negated: Target that monster; during this Battle Phase, it can attack again, and if it does, its ATK is doubled during the Damage Step only.**_

"WHAT!?" Ryōga gawked in shock.

"That's right and when a monster's attack is negated, it can attack again but with double the power! Yūji explained.

"That was set in his first turn!" Shinichi recalled.

"You mean he planned all of this!" Hideyoshi gawked.

"Incredible," Hana awed.

"GO, YUJI!" Misato and Michiru cheered.

Hope drew both swords from his waist as they glowed with a golden light before growing to five times their original size.

**Number 39: Hope, the Aspiring Emperor: 5000 ATK/ 2000 DEF**

"5000?" Ryōga gawked.

"_**Hope Sword… SLASH!" **_Yūji roared as Hope swung his swords in a X motion, cutting Leviathan Dragon before it exploded.

"YAAAAARGH!" Ryōga roared as he was flung back by the explosion.

_**Kamishiro Ry**__**ōga: 0**_

_**Fudō Yū**__**ji: WINNER**_

The AR Vision dematerialized, returning everything to normal.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Taisuke panicked as he and Makoto fled.

"He calculated all this," Hana assumed.

**Music Change – "You Win!" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4)**

Yūji removed his D-Gazer, breathing hard, "I did it... If that's not luck, I dunno what is...!"

Astral aimed his gaze to the unconscious Ryōga and extended his hand out. A glowing card flew out of Ryōga's chest as he grunted, with the 17 mark disappearing from his forehead. Astral retrieved the card, revealing to be Leviathan Dragon.

It turned gold and burst into particles as Astral then realized, _'If I gather the other 99 Number cards, my memory will return!'_

"That...was...FUCKING AWESOME!" Shinichi exploded. "What was that card? I never saw it before!"

"A new...power," Yūji answered.

"It was amazing," Michiru beamed.

"I'll say," Hideyoshi nodded. "Like nothing I've ever seen."

"It was very impressive," Hana agreed, "To think you actually predicted the entire Duel…"

"I wish," Yūji grinned. "It was pure luck!"

"SAY WHAT?" Misato shrieked.

"If it wasn't for Hope, I probably would have lost," he elaborated.

"It was so shiny!" Michiru jumped up and down. "Can I see it again?"

"Sure," Yūji nodded as he dove into his deck box, "let me...hey, where is it?" It was gone. He then saw Ryōga walking towards him, with a remorseful look on his face. "Shark…"

"As agreed," Shark spoke as he presented his deck.

Yūji shook his head and placed his hands on the deck, "I never wanted your deck. I can tell that you value them just by how well you used them. What I wanna know is why you betted your deck in your matches."

"Blame the fools who picked fights with me," he scowled. "After I continued winning and getting their decks, they were sore losers and spread those rumors. So I decided to go with it as a means of challenging myself." He turned away and spoke, "However, I will remember this Duel today, Fudō Yūji." And he walked away.

"Same here," Yūji nodded with a smile.

"Believing in one's draw, and betting everything on it, huh?" Astral spoke.

"What's wrong?" Yūji asked.

"It seems you're a Duelist that exceeds my understanding," he complimented. "And your skill is _**somewhat**_ equal to my own, Tōji."

"For the last time," Yūji growled before snapping, "MY NAME IS YUJI!"

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

><p><strong>KAMEN RIDER BUSHIDO: And what this is my own take on ZeXal. In case you were wondering, I pretty much replaced a chunk of the original cast and added my own. Besides, the setting for ZeXal a little too kiddish for my taste, so I made it more teen oriented. Also, Hideyoshi is from the anime <strong>_**"Baka and Test: Summon the Beasts," and Yuzuki is from the CLAMP series"Chobits."**_ **I hope you guys liked this, and leave any questions if you got.**

**Also, here's a list of cast and VAs (Voice Actors)**

**Fudo Yuji – Johnny Yong Bosch**

**Astral – Kirby Morrow**

**Banabara Shinichi – Josh Grelle**

**Kamishiro Ryoga – Justin Cook**

**Kinoshita Hideyoshi – Brina Palencia**

**Kurushina Misato – Luci Christian**

**Nekozawa Hana – Michelle Ruff**

**Masami Michiru – Monica Stori**

**AND I FINALLY FIXED THIS THING!**

**The Six Samurai set is gonna be Yuji's official deck throughout the course of the story.**


	2. Bombs Away!

DUEL 2 - _**Bombs Away!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Music – "Life with Y<strong>**ū****sei and his Friends" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Sound Duel 2)**

"Numbers?" Yūsei blinked.

His son, Yūji, nodded, "Yeah, and these things are very powerful, Dad."

"We saw them with our own eyes," Hideyoshi nodded, "And I still don't believe it."

The group was in Yūji's home, as Yusei and Aki were present. Yuzuki was serving tea to everyone.

"But Yūji lost the card," Shinichi whined.

"I didn't lose it," Yūji corrected. "It _vanished__**.**_"

"That's strange..." Yūsei frowned, "Cards don't just _**vanish.**_ They had to go _**somewhere.**_ Also, I've never heard of these _**'Numbers'**_ in my life."

"And what about that spirit?" Aki asked. "The one who was with you in your Duel."

"I am here, and the Numbers are very mysterious," Astral declared.

"She can't hear you, dude," Yūji reminded.

"It must be due to our link... Shame, I would compliment on how lovely this woman appears."

"Hey! Say that again and I'll break you face!" Yūji threatened the spirit.

Shinichi cocked an eyebrow at his friend, "Dude, nobody's there."

Yūji pointed at the air where Astral was floating, "This punk-ass is talking about my mom! I can't let that shit slide!"

"What did he say?" Yūsei asked.

"He thinks Mom's hot."

Yūsei sat back with his arms folded in front of his chest, "Well, then he has good taste. But she's mine."

"I understand," Astral nodded.

"He can't hear you either, dip-shit!" Yūji snapped.

Michiru frowned sadly, "I don't think you're feeling well, Yū-kun…"

"I'm not hallucinating," retorted Yūji.

"I believe this 'Astral' is a spirit only he can see," Hana assumed as she adjusted her glasses. Hana's interests in the supernatural often made her the go-to individual for mysterious occurrences, even if she doesn't have all the answers.

"Thank the Crimson Dragon somebody gets it," Yūji sighed in relief.

"Spirit? Like a ghost?" Shinichi gasped. He puts his fingers in a cross. "Be gone, evil spirit! Someone get an Ouija board or a couple of priests; a young priest and an old priest!"

"I don't think Astral's Catholic, Shin," Yūji sweat-dropped. "And he even thinks a ghost is a Duel Monster."

"I think you've been watching too many movies," Misato stated.

Shinichi said, "Let me head down to a shrine real quick."

Hana bopped him over the head, "Sit down and shut up, you idiot."

"Aside from his amnesia, he seems to be fluent with dueling," Yūji added.

"Yes, for I am a Duelist!" Astral proclaimed dramatically.

"I think I'm gonna rip my ears off just so I can't hear you," Yūji groaned.

"Maybe we should hold a séance to summon forth Astral from the great beyond," Shinichi suggested.

"He's already in the room!" Misato pointed out, "We just can't see or hear him."

"My mother has a friend who can communicate with spirits," Shinichi pointed out. "Maybe she can help."

"You know if she can mute him too?" Yūji asked with hope in his voice.

"You can't talk to a spirit when it's mute. That would defeat the purpose. She also does exorcisms."

Astral looked to Yūji, gesturing to Shinichi, "Is something wrong with him?" He'd observed Shinichi's behavior and considered it odd.

"He's just weird most of the time," Yūji explained, "You get used to it, but Shin's a good friend."

"Hey, is the creepy ghost talking bad about me?" Shinichi demanded.

"No, he just thinks you're weird. Which is tame compared to everyone else calling you an idiot half the time."

"Oh, that's good," Shinichi nodded. He paused. "Wait, what?"

"Onii-sama..."

The adults and teens looked to the hall, seeing a little girl that resembled Aki, only with snow-white hair and blue eyes (like Yūji and Yūsei's), dressed in a white nightgown and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Ah, Yuki-chan," Yūji beamed as he got up and dashed over to the little girl and carrying her in his arms. "Did we wake you?" She gave him a silent nod as he smiled. "I'm sorry. Come, I'll put you back to bed. And he left the group, with Astral following.

"I better get going too," Shinichi stretched. "Kaa-chan needs help with her latest book."

"Give her our regards," Yūsei nodded. Shinichi grinned and took off.

"We should get going as well," Hana said as she and Michiru stood up. "Michiru and I have studying to do."

"Bye-bye," Michiru beamed while hugging Aki.

"Tell your mama I said hi," the mother smiled. And the girls left.

"Shall you be staying with us, Misato-sama?" Yuzuki asked.

"For a little while," she smiled. She got up and made her way to Yūji's room.

"Do you think he'll be OK, Yūsei?" Aki asked. She was clearly worried.

"Yūji's a smart kid," Yūsei defended. "He'll figure out how to handle this."

"I hope so," she sighed.

* * *

><p>"So, there are more or less an estimated 99 more Numbers out there, probably scattered around the city; maybe even the world?" Yūji interrogated. He was sitting in a wheeled chair as Astral hovered in the air.<p>

"That's right," Astral nodded.

"And you expect me to find them all," he concluded.

"You are the only one capable of finding and gathering them all," Astral reasoned.

"And why should I?" Yūji demanded. "So far you've been nothing but a pain in my ass."

"Did you already forget about the duel you had with that boy?" Astral questioned. "You've seen the power of Leviathan Dragon and Hope. Think of what would happen if the Numbers fell into the wrong hands."

Yūji was silent for a moment as he recalled the events of the day. The power he felt from Shark when he was possessed by Leviathan Dragon was definitely malicious. If someone smart got a hold of that kind of power…

"OK, I'll do it but not for you. I'll hunt down the remaining Numbers to protect the citizens of Neo Domino as well as my family and friends," Yūji declared. A knock was heard from his door. "Who is it?" he asked and Misato entered. "Misato," Yūji blinked. "I thought you went home."

"Wanted to see you," she smiled.

He leaned back in his seat, "What's up?"

"About this 'ghost', what are you gonna do about it?" she asked seriously.

"I have to find the rest of the Numbers so Astral can get his memory back," Yūji sighed, "Those things are dangerous, Misato. You saw what that dragon did to Shark. Think of what would happen if some nut got their hands on one, if not more, of those things!"

"Need help?"

"I appreciate the offer, but only Numbers can beat Numbers," Yūji declined. "And also..."

"Also...?" she urged.

"If those things managed to possess you or the others, I don't know what I'd do..." he feared.

"Duel," she suggested as she moved closer. "If we get possessed, challenge us to a duel and win."

Yūji sighed, "I guess it's that simple, huh?"

"It worked with Kamishiro," Misato argued. "I assume that only a Numbers holder can duel a Numbers holder, is that right? Since you have two now, you're one step closer to gaining 99 of them. 97 left, right?"

"More or less," he nodded.

"And you need to relax and not let every little thing stress you out," she pointed out as she jumped into Yūji's lap, "You start over-analyzing everything when you're stressed."

"I do?" he blinked.

"You're not alone too. You got me, Hana, Michiru, Hideyoshi, and even that idiot Shinichi. You don't have to shoulder this burden alone," she added. She takes his hand in hers.

Yūji smiled and kissed her hand, "Thank you, Misato."

"Now then, I'll be right back after I finish packing," she informed as she climbed off him.

He blinked, "Packing? Where are you going?"

"I'm moving in with you!" she beamed.

Yūji nodded, "Oh... Wait, WHAT!-?" he exclaimed.

"I'm packing," she repeated.

"No, what was that about you moving in with me!-?" he demanded.

Misato blinked, "Your parents didn't tell you?"

"No, they didn't," Yūji denied. "And what about yours, won't they be worried?"

"Oh, our parents discussed things," she replied, "Since my parents are going to be out of the country for my dad's work I'll be staying with you. They didn't want me to be all on my lonesome." She moved in closer, gazing at Yūji cutely as she pouted, "Why...don't you like me anymore, _**Y**__**ū**__**-kun?**_"

He backed away, blushing from Misato's cuteness, "It's just... I don't understand how the hell you are able to plan ahead so far…"

"You really should pay more attention," she retorted.

"Well, I'm not against it. You just caught me off guard like always," he calmed down.

"Oh, and I'm also gonna be sharing your room and bed," she added.

"Some things never change," Yūji sighed.

She turned and grinned, "You actually believed that?"

"Oh, you're not? But you always used to sneak into my bed when we were kids," he recalled almost sadly.

"Oh, I'm getting my own room...but you should lock your door, unless you _**want**_ me to sneak into your bed. So, you and me in the same house," she mused, "I worry if my innocent body will be _**defiled**_ by your _**baser animal lusts!**_"

"Hey! In that case, I _**don't**_ want you sneaking into my room," Yūji declared.

Misato laughs and punches his arm, "Please, if you tried I'd kick your ass and kick your balls!" He pouted. She then changed the subject, "So, how exactly are you gonna hunt down these Numbers?"

"Astral has some kind of connection to them," Yūji replied, "I guess he'll let me know."

Misato nodded before looking up at the ceiling, "Oh, and if Astral can hear me, I'd like to let him know if he gets you killed I'm gonna bring him into the physical realm and beat the shit out of him."

Astral cringed, "This woman is..."

"Scary, I know," Yūji agreed.

"I'll be back in an hour," she informed as she kisses his cheek, "Don't miss me too much, OK?"

Astral, after Misato leaves, inquires, "What is the nature of your relationship?"

"We've been friends since we were kids," he replied as he crossed his arms. "She was crazy, and she still is! She would always take a bath with me, sneak into my bed, molest me, nibble on my ear, lick me...! God, she was always like that!" he fumed. "The shit she does now is tame compared to back then. I'm surprised she hasn't raped me yet!"

Misato was listening from his door, interested in what Yūji had to say about her. So far she had been disappointed. To recall what they've been through so negatively, she wondered if Yūji even liked her. But then why was he even friends with her after all this time?

"And despite these occurrences, you are still friends?" Astral questioned, clearly confused, "Why?"

Yūji relaxed as he leaned back in his seat, smiling, "Because... After that kiss, I couldn't stop thinking about her. I was drawn to her and wanted to know more about her; why she did the things she did, what made her tick. As we grew up, her shenanigans became second nature to me and I grew _**accustomed**_ to it. She was like family. She _**is**_ family. And I would do _**anything**_ for her."

Misato smiles and walks away, humming, on her way to her apartment. She had a lot of packing to do.

'_Observation #01: Relationships are complicated,'_ Astral noted to himself.

* * *

><p>"Has anyone heard from Shark since my duel with him?" Yūji asked.<p>

"No, not really," Hana shook her head.

"It's like he disappeared..." Michiru frowned.

"Guess he couldn't stand the shame of losing to you," Shinichi suggested.

"Maybe, but I doubt he'd be 'missing' for long," Hideyoshi shrugged, "I have a feeling he'll turn up again, sooner or later."

"More importantly..." Shinichi stands and points at Yūji, "How the hell is Misato living with you?!"

The students hear this and start talking amongst themselves

"Living together...?!"

"Fudo and the Captain?!"

"Should have known..."

"That bastard...!"

"What makes him so special!?"

Yūji sighed, "Gee, Shin, vocal much? And how did you know Misato moved in with me?"

Shinichi boasted, "My information network is top secret and..."

"Michiru told you," he cut off.

"Yeah."

"No fair, I wanna live with Yū-kun too!" Michiru pouted.

"Misato has a reason," Yūji supported, "Her parents will be out of the country and they want her taken care of."

"Misato was definitely happy about it," Shinichi grinned.

"And besides, two cheerleaders living with a boy might spread some unnecessary rumors, Michiru," Hana lectured.

"I admire you, and envy you at the same time," Shinichi glared.

"You make it sound as if it was my decision..." Yūji dead-panned.

"I know it's not, but it's not like you're rejecting the decision either."

"You don't reject anything when Misato's involved in the equation," Yūji informed, "That's a lesson I learned a long time ago."

"Well, it's Friday so what do you guys wanna do after school?" Michiru asked.

"How about a Halo party?" Shinichi suggested, "We all log onto Halo Online and play some Slayer."

"That's fine," Hideyoshi nodded.

"Yay! Slayer! Slayer! Slayer!" Michiru chanted.

"I was thinking more on the lines of Firefight. But Slayer's fine," Yuji shrugged.

"I'd prefer we play other _**games,**_ Yūji~," Misato purred as she crept up behind Yūji and hooked her arms over his shoulders, stroking his chest as she nuzzled his neck.

The boys in class all give Yūji death glares. Yūji shot his own death glare at the male students, his eyes glowing, as a dragon-like shadow hovered over him and growled, causing them to flinch as they cowered back to their seats. The teacher comes in and calls everyone to settle down to begin class.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?" Astral asked as he looked at the TV screen. Yūji was putting a circular disc inside his XBox and then the words HALO X appeared across the fifty inch screen.<p>

"Playing some Halo," said Yūji.

"Halo?" Astral asked. "You mentioned it before. What is this 'Halo'?"

"It's a famous video game and it's been updated a lot since a long time ago. This is the latest version," said Yūji as he put on the headset. He then logged onto Halo Online.

Yūji's Spartan avatar appeared on the map he and his friends had decided to use for their Halo Party. His armor was a primary blue and secondary white with the Mark VI variation and he had the Hayabusa gear on. The map he had chosen was Valhalla.

"Here I am~," Misato purred as she draped herself over Yūji. She was in a towel and her soaked hair draped onto his shoulders.

"You're wet," he blushed.

"I know," she agreed.

"Dry yourself off."

"I knew you like it raw," she retorted.

"Dry yourself and put some clothes on, Misato," Yūji ordered as his blush deepened.

"OK," she giggled as she got off from him and removed her towel, drying herself behind him as she got cleaned up.

Astral was watching her and Yūji noticed this. "Focus on the game," Yuji glared, "You were interested weren't you?"

"Observation #2," Astral monologue, "Female humans are physically alluring while unclothed."

"I know that," Yūji frowned, "Now stop looking." He was trying hard not to look himself, but knowing that Misato was naked behind him made his sweatpants uncomfortable.

"Hey, Yūji!" Shinichi came up to Yūji's Avatar. His Avatar wore the Mark V armor, colored forest green with brown trim.

"Yo," Yūji called into the microphone, "Just waiting on Misato and we can get started."

"I'm ready whenever you are," Hideyoshi called. His armor was colored green and he was in the Mark V as well.

"As you can see, me and Hideyoshi match," Shinichi beamed.

"You're forest green, I'm emerald green," he corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"We're here!" Michiru called as she and Hana approached. She was in maroon and Hana was all black.

"So, anyway, I think that to start things off let's play Capture the Flag!" Shinichi declared.

"Teams of two then," Yūji agreed.

Misato sat beside Yūji in her panties and a black crop top as she took a headset and controller. "OK, let's roll!" Her armor was black and red in the Mark VI as well.

"OK, so, it's simple," Shinichi began, "At the top of that base is one flag. The objective is to capture that flag until time runs out. The team who has the flag by then is the winner. Oh, and we can kill each other to-"

Michiru shoots Shinichi. "Let's go, Hana-chan!" Hana nodded and they dash towards the flag.

Shinichi respawned and growled, "Goddammit!"

"Come on, let's go!" Hideyoshi called.

"Right behind…"

***BANG!***

Misato killed him, "Let's go, Yūji!"

Yūji prepped a rocket launcher and blasted Hideyoshi.

Shinichi respawned and waited for Hideyoshi. "OK, that's it! Come on, Princess! Let's fuck them up!"

Hideyoshi responded by blasting him in the face with a shotgun. "Don't call me 'Princess'," Hideyoshi frowned before sighing, "That felt good."

Shinichi respawned for a third time. "Hideyoshi! Whatever! I'll pay you back later!"

"I got the flag!" Michiru cheered.

"Not yet!" Shinichi denied. He threw a plasma grenade that hit Michiru.

"Oh no!" she panicked.

***BOOM!***

Shinichi went and grabbed the flag. "Mine!"

Misato bashed him in the back of the head with her rifle. "Mine now, bitch!"

"Return to base!" Yūji ordered.

***BANG! BANG!***

Hideyoshi was on the cliff with a sniper rifle and just missed the couple.

Shinichi respawned and exchanged his assault rifle for a rocket launcher and aimed. "Fire in the hole!" A plasma grenade via Yūji was stuck to his face. "Oh, come-"

***BOOM!***

"You know, I so love blowing him up," Misato sighed, "Don't you?"

"Since we can't do it in real life, this makes up for it," Yūji agreed.

"LEEROY JENKINS!" Shinichi cried as he respawned yet again and charged into battle.

"Aw, you mad, bro?" Yūji grinned. He fired two more rockets at Shinichi.

Shinichi jumped out of the way "Not this time!" He got gunned down by rapid fire.

Hana was holding a Gatling gun. "Drop the flag," she demanded.

Yūji looked to Misato, "Run."

They tried to retreat and Yūji was blasted by a Spartan Laser held by Michiru. She then went and used the energy sword to stab Misato, grabbing the flag and claiming it.

Yūji respawned. "She's gotten better," he acknowledged as Misato returned to his side.

"Whatever! Let's get the flag!"

The game continued with them killing each other as the clock kept ticking. Astral watched, curious, as Yūji killed his friends' avatars on screen.

"What is the purpose of this game?" he asked.

"Take the flag and return it to your base without getting 'killed'," Yūji explained.

"But you were 'killed' a number of time," he reminded.

"Yeah, it happens, but you can 'revive' as many times as possible before the clock runs out."

"Yūji, we got like two more minutes and the perv and pretty boy got the flag..." Misato reported.

Hideyoshi watched as Shinichi was teabagging Hana and Michiru's corpses. "Do you have to do that?"

"Just showing my superiority!" Shinichi beamed. He was then run over by a jeep that was driven by Michiru. Hideyoshi tried to flee when he was gunned down by Hana on the turret.

"Who's superior now, cockbite?" Hana asked.

"HAH! Taste my bumper!" Michiru beamed.

The girls were then bombed by tank fire as Misato ran alongside a Scorpion that Yūji was driving. She then grabbed the flag and rand for home while Yūji covered her, blasting the others as they respawned.

And time. The winners were Yūji and Misato as the scoreboard appeared.

"And that takes care of that," Yūji nodded.

"So, Yūji and Misato won," Shinichi summarized, "Let's have a 5 minute rest session and then resume with another game. How about Firefight?"

"Sure," Yūji nodded. He put his controller down and leaned back on the floor. "That took a bit outta me..."

Misato climbed onto Yūji's chest and smiled sultrily, "Good game."

"You won it for us," he stated.

"You're the one who covered my ass," she retorted.

"That's what partners do," he said as he gazed into her eyes, "They look out for each other."

"Yes, and I got to kill Shinichi repeatedly," Misato beamed.

"I know you enjoyed that," he chuckled.

"Well, killing him online is satisfying."

"Is that the only thing that satisfies you?" he asked.

Misato rubbed his thigh, "I can think of a few things that are more satisfying."

Yūji responded by wrapping his arms around her waist, their chests pressing close. Astral is watching. This is something Yūji has to get used to, an audience 24/7. "I don't say this often, but I do enjoy having you around, even when we were kids," he admitted.

"Same here," she smiled.

He smiled softly before jerking his head up, mashing his lips with Misato's. She blinked from the sudden action as she felt his hands caressing her sides and down her thighs. She moaned into the kiss as she had her own hands exploring under his shirt, tracing his skin. She yelped when she felt Yūji grab her rear, squeezing her cheeks in his hands.

She broke the kiss and smirked, "You naughty boy~…"

"Couldn't help it," he shrugged, "It's your fault for being naked behind me earlier."

They continued their make out as Astral continued watching. He then noticed a little humanoid with a bomb for a head and beady green eyes appearing on the screen. "Bug?" the creature blinked as it tilted its head.

"Hm?" Astral blinked as he turned to the screen and saw the creature. "What is that?"

It then pulled a bomb out of its pocket and beamed "BUG!" The bomb went off and the XBox shorted out, catching fire and startling the teens.

"Oh shit!" Yūji cried as he ran for the fire extinguisher.

"What the hell happened?!" Misato gasped as she watched the flaming XBox. She looked to the window and noticed something odd.

Yūji came back with a fire extinguisher and put out the flaming console. "That was close," he sighed, "But what happened?"

"Um, Yūji," Misato called as she looked through the window.

Yūji came over and gaped at what he saw. Traffic lights were blinking constantly and cars were littered all over the streets of the city with citizens everywhere. Even Astral was amazed at the amount of chaos that was going on.

"OK, this isn't good," Yūji frowned.

Yūji jumped as his D-Gazer rang. Picking up the device he hooked it over his ear and adjusted the eyepiece. "Yūji here," he answered.

Shinichi's face appeared in front of Yūji. _"Y__ū__ji, you know how they always warned us about the Red Ring of Death when we play on the XBox? Well, my XBox got the Red Flames of Death! Red Flames! It'll be ages before I can afford a new one!"_

"I know, mine blew up too," he nodded, "I'm getting two more calls too."

Michiru called Yūji while Hana was putting out the fire with a fire extinguisher. _"Y__ū__-kun, our XBox-"_

"Blew up? Yeah, so did mine," he confirmed.

Hana spoke, _"Tell him that all the electronic stuff outside has gone crazy."_

Michiru responded, _"I think he knows it too!"_

'_Something weird is going on here…'_ Yuji frowned in thought.

* * *

><p><strong>Music – "Strategy Conference" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's)<strong>

The next day at school, everyone was talking about what had happened. A lot of the kids in their home city owned XBoxes. Well, not anymore.

"And now it's a pile of slag! I saved for two years to get mine! Two years!" complained Shinichi.

"I got mine as a present from my grandfather," said Hideyoshi, "Had it sent it to me on my birthday." His grandfather had died years before and he'd missed him but on his birthday he'd gotten a video recording and an X-Box as a present. He treasured both. "At least I have his video recording."

"Don't be so melodramatic," said Hana as she tapped on her tablet computer. She was looking up information on what had occurred. They had all seen a strange bomb-headed entity right before their XBoxes blew up.

"Not only that, traffic signals were tampered with and chaos was abundant last night," Yūji frowned in his seat. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

Astral spoke, "I suppose it was not a natural occurrence."

"XBoxes blowing up at the same time, while everyone was playing online?" Yūji responded, "What are the odds?"

"You talking to ghost boy?" Shinichi asked. "Hey, how about you ask him how everything went crazy."

"He's not omniscient," Yūji said.

"Omni...what?" Shinichi responded.

Yūji rolled his eyes. Sometimes Shinichi could be so dumb or so random. No, he wasn't dumb. Yūji knew his friend. He just wasn't articulate. "All knowing," he defined, "He's not God."

"Oh, because there's only one true God," said Shinichi. "You know, if we could speak to God, maybe She-"

"She?" Hideyoshi cut him off, blinking.

"Kaa-chan says 'God is a woman'," Shinichi quoted, "I just go with it. Don't care either way. I just got used to how she thinks that only a woman could make the world and give birth to all life on Earth."

"I still think the Crimson Dragon is God," Yūji shrugged, "But if it turns out to be female as well then that's fine with me." He then noticed Astral looking over Hana's shoulder with a serious look. "What's wrong?"

Astral pointed, "I saw this creature last night, before your game was interrupted!"

Yūji got up and looked over Hana's other shoulder. "What, that thing?"

Hana stated, "This image." She tapped a few buttons on the screen. "Bugman X; it's a Duel Monsters card."

"So a Duel Monster made everything go haywire?" Misato ask.

"Or a virus in the image of one," Hana corrected, "Not many people consider Bugman X a very strong monster. They're also pretty cheap and common."

"Hey, isn't there like one guy in our class who plays them?" Shinichi asked.

Yūji looked around and spotted an empty seat. His eyes narrowed with suspicion and he turned to Hana, "Hana, could you bring up the class roster? I wanna know today's attendance record."

Hana nodded and brought up the roster and class attendance record for the day. Pictures of their entire class appeared. All were present, except for one who was marked absent for the day.

"Sumira Koichi," Hana identified, "He's absent today."

"Sumira..." Yūji frowned, "Any idea where he lives?"

Hana said as he brought up a map which had Koichi's house marked on it, "I have his address and the fastest route to get there."

"How do you do all that stuff on that thing?" Shinichi asked.

"Practice," Hana said, "And knowing about the best Apps. I programmed the addresses and contact information of everyone in our class right in this little tablet."

"You're so smart, Hana, I could kiss you," Yūji smiled appreciatively.

"Please, not on school grounds," she blushed.

"Maybe later then," he nodded, "Now..."

"To Koichi's house!" Shinichi shouted out, standing on the table with his one foot while pointing dramatically towards the door. This earned him odd stares from a lot of people.

"Shinichi, did you have to be so dramatic?" Yūji groaned.

"Hey, just trying to be dramatic as the Kamen Riders," Shinichi shrugged.

"You really are a Kamen Rider otaku, you know that?" Misato teased.

"That's how I roll," he stated proudly. "One day I wanna be a hero like them, and I guess helping Yūji get these Numbers would help count as being heroic."

"Anyway, let's head down to that guy's place," Yūji ordered.

"Yeah!"

**End Music**

"But after school," Hana reminded.

"After school," Yūji and Shinichi parroted before returning to their seats.

"Hey, after we deal with this problem, can we go out for some bananas?" Michiru asked hopefully.

"Sure," Yūji agreed.

"Let's get choco-bananas, deep fried bananas, and regular bananas." Michiru's mouth watered at the thought of her favorite treat.

"Seriously, you are as obsessed with bananas as I am with Kamen Riders," Shinichi pointed out.

* * *

><p>As the school day went on, the group used whatever free time they had between classes to plan an ambush on Koichi Sumira. After school, they went straight to Koichi's house, following the directions on Hana's tablet computer. They used a shortcut and were right there. The group showed up at a small apartment that was overshadowed by a huge radio tower.<p>

Shinichi was banging on the door. "Hey, Sumira," he called, "come on out!" There was no answer, angering Shinichi. "Hey Sumira, open this door!" Shinichi banged on the door again. No answer came on the door, angering Shinichi further. "Open this door or I will bust it open with a Shinichi Kick!" Shinichi threatened, earning him odd looks from his friends.

Misato rolled her eyes as she spoke sarcastically, "Oh, right, threaten him to come out while banging on his door like an angry mob. That will get him to come out."

"You're right," said Shinichi as he backed away.

"What are you doing?" Hideyoshi asked but he didn't really have to. He knew that look.

"I'm gonna break the door down! Charge! Shinichi Kick!" Shinichi rushed towards the door as Yuji turned the knob and pushed the door open before Shinichi sailed by and crashed. "OW!"

"You OK in there?" asked Michiru.

"The hard floor broke my fall!" Shinichi shouted back, "Man, it's so dark in here! Also, I think I might've landed into some old pizza; really old and smelly pizza!"

"He rarely thinks before he acts," Astral observed.

"Yeah, his feet run faster than his brain can catch up sometimes. He's more on instinct than thinking," Yūji explained.

"I heard that!" Shinichi shot back.

Astral then tensed up as he looked to the tower.

"What's up?" Yūji asked.

"I sense...something," the 'spirit' replied. His eyes widened, "Numbers!"

"Seriously?-!" Yūji gaped.

Misato observed Yūji's expression, "I know that look. We got trouble, don't we?"

"Yeah, trouble with a capital 'N'," said Yūji as Shinichi stumbled out of the apartment, a pizza stain on his shirt. Yūji grimaced and pinched his nose, "That is some stinky pizza."

"I'm gonna need a shower and disinfectant. So, what did I miss?"

"Numbers, apparently," said Hideyoshi.

"Let's roll!" Yūji shouted as he dashed for the tower, followed by the others.

* * *

><p>The group took an elevator to the top floor where the exited into a dark room.<p>

"This it?" Shinichi asked.

"Top floor," Misato frowned.

The lights flashed on and everyone saw a young man on an elevated platform. He had curly, reddish hair, brown eyes, and wore cargo pants with a jacket and a red ascot.

**Music – "Dark Signers" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Sound Duel 2)**

"Welcome, my guests," the teenager welcomed.

"Sumira Koichi," Hana identified.

"Indeed, that is my name," Koichi supported, "And what brings here on this lovely evening?"

"We know it was you that started that whole virus crap last night, Sumira!" Shinichi pointed.

"Ah, so you figured it out so easily," the redhead clapped, "Not bad. Well, how did you like my little test?"

"A test?" Michiru blinked.

"Yes, that virus I set into the city and many gaming systems was just a simple test drive for my most beautiful virus," Koichi explained.

"You're gonna pay for blowing up my XBox, asshole!" Shinichi roared as Hideyoshi held him back.

"Take it easy, Shinichi," Hideyoshi placated.

Yūji stepped forward and called out, "What's the point of all this, Sumira? Why launch a virus into the city and cause trouble for everyone?"

Koichi blinked, "Why? Why to make a show, of course! You see, explosions and the like have always been something of a hobby of mine since I was a little boy. Experimented with fireworks and toys since no one could get hurt and watching everything explode was so much fun!"

"I think he's crazy," Michiru whispered to Hana.

"That has been obvious since he opened his mouth," Hana whispered back.

"So now I asked myself," Koichi grinned, "WHY NOT LET EVERYONE SEE THE FIREWORKS? HAHAHAHA!" he cackled madly as a purple, circular 34 appeared on his left cheek.

"Yūji!" Astral called.

"Numbers," Yūji glared.

"In fact, you lot are just in time to watch my virus bomb go off!" Koichi declared as several computer monitors turned on with a huge timer counting down. "Just thirty more minutes and the city will go up in flames," Koichi grinned.

"You're fucking crazy!" Misato cried.

"And what's wrong with being a little crazy?" Koichi chuckled. "However…I suppose I can give you a fair chance."

Shinichi blinked, "A chance?"

"If you can beat me in a Duel then I will shut down the virus and nothing will happen," he offered, "And if I win…WE ALL GO BOOM!"

"Fine, I'll take that bet," Yūji declared.

"Then let us begin!" Koichi cackled as he hopped off his platform and landed several feet across from Yūji.

"D-Gazer, set!" Yūji called. "Target: Lock-On!" And the AR field was put up

"_AR Vision, link established."_

"_**DUEL!"**_ the boys called.

_**Fudō**__** Y**__**ū**__**ji: 4000**_

_**Sumira Koichi: 4000**_

**Music – "Duel 05" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 4)**

"I'll take the first turn," Koichi smirked, "Draw! I set a monster in Face-Down Defense Position! I'll end my turn at that."

"OK then, my Draw!" Yūji declared. "So you wanna keep it a surprise, huh? Then I'll just have to open the box! I summon _**The Six Samurai - Nisashi!**_" At his call, the green samurai was summoned as he drew his two katana, ready for battle. "Now then, let's see what that card is! Battle! Nisashi will attack the set monster! **Double Strike!**" The samurai dashed ahead as he was ready to cut down the set card.

"Naïve," Koichi grinned, "Come out, **Bugman X!**" The set card flipped over and revealed the Bugman as it put up a cage-like barrier that repelled Nisashi.

_**Bugman X**_

_**DARK/Fiend/Effect/Lv.3/0/2000**_

_**If you control a face-up "Bugman Y" when you Normal Summon this card, you can Special Summon 1 "Bugman Z" from your Deck.**_

"OK then," Yūji nodded with a frown. "I end my turn."

_**Fudō **__**Y**__**ū**__**ji: 4000 → 3400**_

"Yū-kun lost Life Points," Michiru gasped.

"Relax, Michiru, he only lost 400," Hana reminded, "And the Duel's just started."

"Kick his ass, Yūji!" Shinichi cheered.

"With my turn," Koichi began as he drew a card, "I shall summon **Bugman Y!**" He then summoned a clown-like monster that was fatter than its brother and had a smaller bomb-shaped head.

_**Bugman Y**_

_**DARK/Fiend/Effect/Lv.3/1400/1600 – If you control a face-up "Bugman Z" when you Normal Summon this card, you can Special Summon 1 "Bugman X" from your Deck.**_

"Next I activate the Quick-Play Spell; **Bug Road!**" Koichi declared. "Now we can special summon a monster whose level matches that of a level 4 or lower monster that we already control. So I'll summon **Bugman Z!**" The monster that was summoned was taller and skinnier than its brothers and wore a pinstripe outfit with a Z on its chest.

_**Bugman Z**_

_**DARK/Fiend/Effect/Lv.3/0/1500 – If you control a face-up "Bugman X" when you Normal Summon this card, you can Special Summon 1 "Bugman Y" from your Deck.**_

"Alright, let's see what we got," Yūji mused as he scanned his hand. I'll special summon the **Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan!**" A new samurai emerged on Yūji's left side and a man in black samurai armor stood tall and proud.

_**Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan**_

_**Earth/Warrior/Effect/Lv4/1800/500**_

_**If you control a face-up "Six Samurai" monster with a different name, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). While you control 2 or more other face-up "Six Samurai" monsters, this card gains 300 ATK and DEF.**_

"Yeah, let's see Sumira get past those monsters," Shinichi challenged.

"Be careful what you wish for," Hana frowned.

"He's gathered three level 3 monsters," Astral realized.

"It's coming," Yūji nodded.

"Time for the show to begin," Koichi grinned, "I overlay my Bugman X, Y and Z!" The Bugmen all turned into purple lights as they flew into the air "I construct the Overlay Network with these three monsters!"

**Music Change – "Dark Ruler" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 5)**

"An overlay of three monsters?-!" Shinichi gaped.

"This can't be good," Hideyoshi grimaced.

A black vortex opened above the field and the three lights flew in before exploding in a flurry of color. "Exceed Summon! Appear now, **Number 34!**"

What emerged from the vortex was a cube-like structure of blue and yellow plates. The plates then spread out as a tail extended from the back and its head flipped out from below. Its number is seen on the right shoulder plate and the creature had a crystal-like horn. Its Overlay Units were purple and orbited around its body.

"**Computer Beast Terror-Byte!"** Koichi proclaimed as the creature roared/shrieked at Yūji.

_**Number 34: Computer Beast Terror-Byte**_

_**DARK/Machine/Xyz/Effect/Rank 3/0/2900**_

_**3 Level 3 monsters**_

_**Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to target 1 face-up Level 4 or lower Attack Position monster your opponent controls; gain control of the target, until the End Phase.**_

"I am getting a bad feeling from that thing," said Hana as her tablet computer displayed no apparent data on the monster. She normally could access data on every card ever made. Then again, the Numbers were unknown in the Duel Monsters community.

"Me too," said Shinichi as his twin ahoge bobbed up and down rapidly. His whole body was tense as he saw the creature which Koichi had summoned.

"Sumira, you're not yourself!" said Yūji. "That thing's possessed you! You're not thinking clearly!"

"Oh, I'm thinking very clearly, Fudō," Koichi retorted. "It's been clear to me for a while now. I am a genius and I deserve to have my genius seen by all! Also, it was damn fun to see all the chaos! Nothing is more fun than chaos!"

"Except for girl on girl porn!" Shinichi shouted out. All eyes turned towards him. "What?"

"Remind me again why we have him around," Misato requested from Hideyoshi.

Koichi cleared his throat before announcing, "Anyway, I think it's time I demonstrated Terror-Byte's awesome power!"

"Caution, Yūji," Astral warned.

"I remove an Overlay Unit and Terror-Byte can seize control of one level 4 or lower monster on your field," Koichi pointed, "And I'm taking Kizan! _**Terror Hacking!**_" One of the Overlay Units was absorbed into Terror-Byte's horn and its tail released a blast of electricity that shocked Kizan, dragging him to Koichi's side of the field.

"Oh, fuckberries," Yūji grimaced.

Hana questioned, "Sumira, what do you hope to accomplish with all this?"

Koichi shot her a look, "Don't interrupt me, Class Rep."

"I can't do that. I want to understand your reason. Activating a virus bomb 'for fun' doesn't seem like a good reason, at least for me. There's more to it than just your enjoyment. It's just a bonus. You're doing this because of some grudge, aren't you? And last night was just a demonstration."

Shinichi spoke, "Man, he really turned out to become a super-villain."

"Funny, you look more like a lapdog than a villain, Sumira," Yūji smirked.

Koichi shouted, "Shut up, Fudō! If you haven't noticed I have your monster!"

"Then what are you waiting for, an invitation? Then come on and attack already," Yūji welcomed.

"You wanna die that much?"

"Terror-Byte can't do shit to me with no strength and I'll only take minimal damage this turn," Yūji explained with a smirk, "Unless, you're too chicken to follow through with your turn."

Koichi roared in anger, "Then take this!"

Kizan roared and lunged at his former ally, cutting him down the middle as he shattered into dust. Yūji flinched as the shockwave blew through him.

_**Fudō **__**Y**__**ū**__**ji: 3400 → 3000**_

"I set one card and end my turn," Koichi smirked as Kizan returned to Yūji's field.

_"__**Virus bomb activation, 20 minutes remaining."**_

"Oh, looks like you're running out of time, Fudō," he chuckled.

"Bite it," Yūji retorted as he drew his card. "I summon _**The Six Samurai - Zanji!**_" The next Six Samurai to appear was Zanji as he materialized alongside Kizan. "Hey, Sumira," he grinned, "Looks to me you forgot to put your monster in Defense Mode, huh?"

"Damn!" Koichi gasped.

"Battle!" Yūji declared, "I'll have Zanji and Kizan attack together!" The two samurai dashed toward Koichi, with Zanji swing the blade of his naginata across his chest, while Kizan swung down on Koichi, making him cry out as he was blasted back from the shock.

_**Sumira Koichi: 4000 → 400**_

"Yeah, way to give 'em the heat, Yūji!" Shinichi fist-pumped.

"How dare you…cut me," Koichi growled. "I activate my Trap Card, **Damage Vaccine – Omega Max!**" A light shines from above and Koichi was showered with sparkles. "With this card, when I take damage, I regain Life points equal to the same amount."

_**Sumira Koichi: 400 →4000**_

"Shit, well that was useless," Yūji grimaced.

"My aim is a perfect victory," Koichi boasted, "I will not allow you to tarnish my perfect score." His body began to radiate with dark energy. Astral was not ignorant of this.

"Dammit, just when he had the lead," Shinichi groaned.

"He can still win," Misato assured.

"Yes," Hana nodded, "If he uses _that_ card, then he may have a better chance of winning…"

'_We're running out of time, Y__ū__ji…' _Michiru feared as she watched the clock reach the 17 minute mark.

"It's a good thing my turn's not over!" Yūji proclaimed. "I overlay my level 4 Zanji and Kizan!" The two monsters turned into beams of red energy as they took to the sky and a black portal opened. "I construct the overlay Network with these monsters! Descending from the Heavens, the Holy King has appeared! Exceed Summon!" The monument emerged as it began to transform. "Appear now, _**Number 39: King of Wishes - Hope!**_"

"**HOOOOPE!"** the warrior cried as it hovered in all its glory.

"YATTA!" Shinichi cheered. Seeing the white and gold armored warrior definitely gave him, and the others, hope.

"So, you have one too," Koichi frowned.

"Yeah, and unlike you, I'm not a slave," Yūji mocked as Hope hovered on the field. He gave Hope a nod as if greeting an old friend and the monster responded in kind. "And since Hope doesn't have a Level, he's immune to Terror-Byte's effect."

"Say what you want, but with such pitiful attack points that thing won't be able to take down my Terror-Byte," gloated Koichi. "And even if I do take damage, my Trap will restore any damage I take!"

"There's more to a monster's power than attack points," Yūji said to Koichi, pointing at him. "I'll end my turn here with a face down!"

_"__**Virus bomb activation, 15 minutes remaining."**_

Yūji grimaced. He needed to end this quickly.

Meanwhile, Hana was tapping furiously on her tablet computer in order to find a solution. On closer inspection of her device's screen, were the countdown and a bunch of data scrolling across the screen.

**Music Change: "Tough Situation 02" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds Tag Force 4)**

"Then you shall die here!" Koichi proclaimed as he drew his card. "First I switch Terror-Byte to Attack Position and then I'll activate the Quick-Play Spell _**Space Cyclone!**_ With this, I can remove the Overlay Units that are still on Terror-Byte, and I'm using two!" A vortex appeared overhead as a twister came down and sucked away Terror-Byte's Overlay Units.

Misato narrowed her eyes and frowned, "Why would he get rid of his own Overlay Units?"

"Simple," Koichi grinned, "So I can remove Bugman X, Y and Z from play in order to Special Summon this!"

What emerged from the shadows was another bomb-headed creature with a golem-like body as a mass of cubes and glowing pink lines.

_**Super Bugman**_

_**DARK/Fiend/Lv.4/0/3000**_

_**This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned in face-up Defense Position by removing from play "Bugman X", "Bugman Y", and "Bugman Z" in your Graveyard. While this card is face-up on the field, switch the ATK and DEF of all face-up Attack Position monsters on the field. There can only be 1 face-up "Super Bugman" on the field.**_

"Say hello… TO SUPER BUGMAN!" Koichi cackled insanely.

"0 attack points," Shinichi grimaced. Normally that wouldn't be a problem but when a monster had no attack points, they had a special ability to compensate for the lack of attack power.

"It's so weird," Michiru observed. "Hana-chan, what can it do?"

But Hana was focused on her screen, only glancing up at Koichi's new monster for a second, before she resumed her work.

_"__**Virus Bomb activation, 10 minutes remaining."**_

The bespectacled girl grimaced, wishing the clock wasn't counting down the minutes out loud so she could concentrate.

"So that's your ace," Yūji presumed.

"That's right and now comes his Monster Effect," Koichi grinned, "As long as Super Bugman is on the field, the attack and defense points of all face-up Attack Position monsters on the field are switched! In other words, Fudo, Super Bugman and Terror-Byte are stronger than ever!"

Super Bugman glowed and roared as he covered the field in a wave of energy.

_**Super Bugman: 0 →3000 ATK**_

_**Number 34: Computer Beast Terror-Byte: 0 →2900 ATK**_

_**Number 39: Hope, the Aspiring Emperor: 2500 →2000 ATK**_

"With its attack and defense points switched, Hope and Yūji won't be able to survive long!" Hideyoshi cried out.

"Don't count him out yet, Princess," said Misato which made Hideyoshi grimace. He really hated that nickname. "Remember, Yūji _always_ has a plan."

"Now die!" Koichi grinned. "Super Bugman, attack Hope!" The giant Bugman was about the throw a punch at Hope…

"I activate Hope's Monster Effect!" Yūji declared. "By removing and Overlay Unit, I can negate the attack of a monster!" An Overlay unit flew into the orb in Hope's chest as he unfurled his wing as it extended and expanded. **"**_**Moon Barrier!**_**"** And the punch was blocked.

"One more time, Terror-Byte!" Koichi ordered. The Number monster's horn glowed and grew as it swung its head down.

"_**Moon Barrier!**_**"** Yūji called as Hope negated the attack. "Too bad, Sumira," Yūji smirked.

"I set a card and end my turn," Koichi glowered, before smirking back, "Keep in mind that you don't have much time left."

_"__**Virus bomb activation, 7 minutes remaining,"**_

"Then I'll have to win on this turn," Yūji grinned, "Ore no turn! Draw!"

**Music Change – "Unleash Force" (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Sound Duel 2)**

He drew his card and grinned, "Time to rev it up! I summon the _**Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki**_**!**" This Samurai was dressed in black hakama and a red sweatshirt, armed with two katana and wore a pair of mechanical arms on the back of his armor.

_**Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan  
>WINDWarrior/Effect/Lv3/200/2000  
>When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Six Samurai" monster from your hand. While you control a face-up "Six Samurai" monster with a different name, this card gains 1500 ATK.<strong>_

"And thanks to his Normal Summon, I can Special Summon a level 4 or lower "Six Samurai" monster from my hand," Yūji continued, "And the one I choose is _**Elder of the Six Samurai!**_" The monster summoned was an elderly man riding some kind of machine.

_**Elder of the Six Samurai  
>EARTHWarrior/Effect/Lv3/400/0  
>If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand).<strong>_

"Two Level 3 monsters..." Koichi frowned.

Yūji grinned, "And now I overlay my level 3 Elder and my level 3 Kageki!" The two monsters turned into orbs of orange and green light as they flew into the sky. "I construct the Overlay Network with these two monsters! _Now arise from the depths of the abyss, and crush the wicked!_ Exceed Summon! Appear now, **Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!**" The sea dragon appeared and roared as it glared at its opponents.

"Another one," Koichi growled, "But Super Bugman is still in play which means Leviathan Dragon's points are switched!"

**Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: 2000 **→ **0**

"Next, I'll activate the Spell Card known as "_**Thunder Shot"**_, which blasts you with 4oo points of damage for each monster you have out!" Thunder roared from above as lightning came down and hit Koichi as he took the damage.

_**Sumira Koichi: 4000 → 3200**_

"Useless!" Koichi crowed, "I activate _**Damage Vaccine – Omega Max!**_"

_**Sumira Koichi: 3200 → 4000**_

"He recovered again," Shinichi growled.

"Which is exactly what I was waiting for," Yūji grinned, "I activate the Trap Card: _**Unprepared Danger!**_"

"WHAT?" Koichi cried.

"When my opponent recovers Life Points, I can select 1 monster on your field and destroy it," Yūji explained, "So say bye-bye to your Bugman!" The Bugman moaned before he exploded into gold dust.

"NO!"

"And with him gone, all monsters on the field regain their original values!"

_**Number 34: Computer Beast Terror-Byte: 2900 → 0**_

_**Number 39: Hope, the Aspiring Emperor: 2000 → 2500 **_

_**Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: 0 → 2000**_

"Battle!" Yūji called, "Leviathan Dragon, attack Terror-Byte! **Vice Stream!**"

The dragon reared its head back before unleashing its energy blast as it consumed Terror-Byte, Koichi screaming in pain from the flames.

_**Sumira Koichi: 4000 → 2000**_

"And now to finish it," Yūji declared, "Time for a direct attack, Hope! _**Hope Sword Slash!**_" Hope drew his blade as he swung it in the air and came down on Koichi, the possessed boy screaming in agony from the shockwave.

_**Sumira Koichi: 2000 → 0**_

_**WINNER: FUDO YUJI**_

"And that takes care of that," Yūji smirked.

"It seems you're getting used to using the Numbers," Astral noted.

"Yeah," he nodded.

Astral then stretched out his hand, a glowing card flying out of Koichi's unconscious body as the Number mark faded off of him. Astral grabbed the card as it materialized into Terror-Byte. "Another piece of my memory," Astral mused. The card gave a bright light and Astral was shown a galaxy-like structure with swirling colors. _'My name is Astral,'_ he confirmed, _'the place I come from… "Astral World"…!'_ He snapped back to reality and looked up. "In this world, I…"

"Guys, the clock hasn't stopped!" Shinichi spoke, pointing at the timer.

"Tell me how to stop the countdown!" Yūji shouted as he grabbed Koichi by the front of his shirt. "Sumira!"

"He's knocked out," said Misato. "OK, does anyone know how to stop the countdown?"

"And done," said Hana as she gave her tablet computer one final tap. The clock suddenly stopped counting down as the numbers just froze.

"Class Rep, what did you do?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Since the start of the duel I've had my tablet device wirelessly linked to Sumira's systems," Hana began her explanation as she adjusted her glasses. "And during the whole duel I've been trying to stop the countdown, and it looks like I succeeded."

"So…you hacked it?" Shinichi asked.

"Yes, indeed I did," Hana smiled and she was glomped by Michiru.

"Hana-chan, you're so smart! No wonder you're our Class Rep!" Michiru cheered.

"I've only stopped the clock," said Hana, "I'm going to need a way to delete the virus bomb."

"Can't you do that with your little device?" Misato asked.

"I'm not a miracle worker," Hana countered, frowning.

"What about a anti-virus to take care of the virus bomb?" Yūji suggested, "Or a vaccination program?"

"That might work," she mused, "But I'll need Sumira's personal terminal for that."

* * *

><p>After returning to Koichi's home, Hana put her all into working on the antivirus program while the others were watching Koichi while he was still unconscious. It wasn't easy. First they needed a password to access Koichi's computer in order to get to the Virus Bomb. Fortunately, Hana had a Password Generator App in her tablet device. All she needed to do was to hook the thing up and millions of possible letter and number combinations flashed across the screen before the right one came up. Next was all a matter of deleting the Virus Bomb which didn't take long.<p>

"And…we're done," Hana finished as she pressed one last key. The monitor read: "Virus Bomb Deleted."

"Good work, Hana," Yūji smiled, "I knew you were the only one who could do this." Hana smiled at the compliment.

"What do we do with him?" Michiru asked as she poked Koichi.

"I don't think this asshole will remember much of what happened," Misato replied as she watched Michiru drawing on Koichi's face with a marker.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Eh, he deserved it," Michiru shrugged.

"Alright, let's head home then," Yūji called, "I think we've been out long enough and I need sleep."

"And I need a clean shirt," Shinichi grimaced as he tugged at his pizza-stained shirt.

The crew left the apartment as they went their separate ways, Hana and Michiru going to their home, Hideyoshi going home, Shinichi taking his route and Yūji and Misato going home with Astral following behind.

Misato interlocked her fingers intertwined with Yūji's as he blushed. "I only dare to hold your hand like this after we've been through so much together," she blushed, "And no one is really around so only you get to see this side of me."

"I appreciate it," he nodded as they walked hand in hand.

"Observation result #3," Astral monologues, "The pieces of my memory, the Numbers cards… Those who touch it, the desire and darkness in their hearts become amplified… I'll remember that."

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

><p><strong>KAMEN RIDER BUSHIDO: HAHA! YES! Chapter 2 IS FINALLY REVISED! HAHAHAHA! The third Number card has been secured and the gang returns to their homes for some well-deserved rest. More nonsense and adventure will be in store next time!<strong>


	3. Announcement

OK, due to watching the recent episodes of Zexal and realizing how badass it's become, I've decided to rework my first 2 chapters so that I can bring back Ryoga. Also gonna change up some of the cast since I had some ideas for fresh, new faces. So for those readers who do like my version, hope you guys refer back to chapter 1 to check out my revisions. Now, I dunno if my writing will match up to the epicness that Zexal has grown into, but I can only promise my best once I get back to working on it. Thanks for your loyal reading

**Kamen Rider Bushido**


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